Players from Oakridge and Ravenna gathered in a circle on the baseball field this week holding hands while adults hovered over an injured player nearby.

Ravenna sophomore Connor Chopp was unresponsive, his body still convulsing after being hit in the face at shortstop midway through the game by a one-hop grounder. His brother Ty Chopp was the pitcher.

Fans in the bleachers held their breath and said prayers. Players from both teams cried. And John Heykoop Jr. flew into action.

Heykoop is a former assistant coach for Oakridge and keeps the book on occasion. He’s also a nurse with Mercy Health Partners. He’s also the father of a baseball player about the age of Connor who died last year in a traffic accident.

“I’ve seen a lot of players hit by a ball in my lifetime but I’ve never seen anyone hit that hard,” said Heykoop, who was one of the first on the scene.

“When I saw him go into convulsions and blood was coming out of his mouth and nose, I was really worried. He just had this blank stare on his face. It didn’t look good.”

Within minutes an ambulance arrived, and Heykoop couldn’t help but think about his own son, Brandon Heykoop, who was Connor’s age when he died last year.

“Anytime you see something like that happen, you think of the potential loss and you know how bad that can be.

“I know how bad that can be,” Heykoop said. “I looked at the expression (Connor’s dad) Andy Chopp’s face and It stirred up a lot of emotion in me.”SUBHEAD: A full recovery

Connor’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous.

Within a half hour at the hospital, he was laughing and talking. He received only a couple stitches in his mouth before being released. Quite a gathering showed up at the hospital.

There were plenty of Ravenna people, including players, family and friends. But, there were many Oakridge people there, too, including Heykoop.

Overzealous parents can get overly worked up over competition — whether their children are being “properly” coached, officiated or utilized. It can be a big issue when rivals play. And two of the area’s biggest rivals when it comes to high school sports competition are Ravenna and Oakridge.

But those athletes can keep sports in perspective, too. What happens on the field stays on the field and the bonding that can occur even between foes in athletic competition is special indeed.

Kathy Potts, the mother of Oakridge player Jamie Potts, whose line drive knocked out Connor on Tuesday, had a special T-shirt made up for Connor, with a play on Ravenna’s mascot. She had all the Oakridge players sign it. It read: “You can’t keep a good Dog down.”

Yes folks, sportsmanship is alive and well.

Cindy Fairfield is the editor of the Muskegon Chronicle. E-mail: cfairfield@muskegonchronicle.com